I was not exactly sure what to expect prior to my arrival in Beijing. I had heard numerous things about the rotation while still in the US and was unaware of what my role would be exactly. Given the language barrier, I expected that I would have a resident by my side as an interpreter and that I would be shadowing the team. I was also told that I would be to prepare several lectures that I would present to residents. Although this brief "orientation" was fairly accurate, it in no way captures the true feeling of this experience.

I am still trying to figure out my exact role in the hospital. The housestaff and attendings are extremely welcoming and allow me to select the topics I am most interested in. Since I have been on GI and Cardiology teams, they have offered to let me be present for numerous EGD's, colonoscopy's, pacemaker insertions, and cardiac cath's. I pre-round with the team, take part in attending rounds, and sit in on lectures and conferences where I am often asked my opinion about the case by some of the program leadership. However, the language barrier has remained a challenge throughout most of the experience as technical medical terms and names for medication often are difficult to translate.

My interactions with the housestaff and attendings however have been the highlight of my experience. The more time I spend here, the more I realize that to truly benefit from this unique experience, I need to maximize my time interacting with my new colleagues. While giving formal lectures soon after my arrival, I realized very quickly that the residents love to speak English. With this in mind, I rarely do purely lecture type presentations and rather try to make the presentations interactive with the use of the blackboard. I have offered the residents who are particularly interested in practicing their English skills the chance to present full H&P's to me as new patients were admitted to the hospital or on particularly interesting cases. They love this opportunity and on average, I hear at least 1-2 cases each day. At the conclusion of each presentation, I usually repeat the entire case for them and write down key English medical terms on the board. We then generate a differential diagnosis and talk about differences in standard treatment between my institution and theirs. It is these informal teaching sessions which have been the highlight for me.

I feel as if my teaching skills are truly being tested to the limit as I try to overcome the language barrier. It is becoming easier with each day that passes, and I find that this has been one of the greatest teaching experiences I have ever had. I am hopeful that I will be able to continue to build on these skills and incorporate them in my duties as a senior resident on my return to Duke as well as eventually as a fellow and attending.

Hope all is well in Durham! Talk to you soon,

Andrew
Andrew Rassi is a Senior Resident in the Department of Medicine. He is currently completing a three month global health rotation at Beijing Hospital and hoping to get tickets to an Olympic event.